Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) Stock Holdings Raised by Advisors Preferred LLC

Advisors Preferred LLC raised its stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI - Free Report) by 87.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,689 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 786 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC's holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 3.2% in the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 935 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Bryce Point Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $518,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 228.9% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 8,367 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $3,663,000 after purchasing an additional 5,823 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 828 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $874,000. 84.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Motorola Solutions

In related news, CAO Katherine A. Maher sold 1,073 shares of Motorola Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.68, for a total transaction of $449,243.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $336,618.72. The trade was a 57.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $490.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $570.00 to $515.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Motorola Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $510.67.

Motorola Solutions Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of MSI traded up $3.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $428.01. The company had a trading volume of 633,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 744,566. The stock has a market cap of $71.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $417.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $429.23. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $385.60 and a fifty-two week high of $507.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The communications equipment provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 160.93%. Motorola Solutions's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $1.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $4.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Motorola Solutions's payout ratio is 36.39%.

About Motorola Solutions

Motorola Solutions, Inc provides public safety and enterprise security solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Products and Systems Integration, and Software and Services. The Products and Systems Integration segment offers a portfolio of infrastructure, devices, accessories, and video security devices and infrastructure, as well as the implementation and integration of systems, devices, software, and applications for government, public safety, and commercial customers who operate private communications networks and video security solutions, as well as manage a mobile workforce.